AI agents aren’t legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is?

Following Australia's first reported automated hacking accident, experts say AI agents are not legally responsible for harm they cause, and deployers—and possibly developers—could be held liable. Prof Jeannie Paterson stated, "If I deploy an AI agent and it causes harm to someone else, I am responsible for that harm," emphasizing that even unintended but foreseeable harm requires responsibility.

AI agents aren’t legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is? By Tory ShepherdSource: The Guardian Technology https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology Following Australia’s first reported automated hacking accident, experts warn deployers – and possibly developers – of AI agents could be held liable for the actions of their bots Get our breaking news email https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau sfl , free app https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3 or daily news podcast https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau sfl The law is clear, says Prof Jeannie Paterson. “If I deploy an AI agent /glossary/ai-agent and it causes harm to someone else, I am responsible for that harm. “Even if I didn’t intend for that to happen, it was foreseeable, and I should be taking responsibility.” Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/13/ai-agents-arent-legally-responsible-for-any-harm-that-they-cause-experts-say-so-who-is Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI.